Probing microstructure and phase evolution of α-MoO3 nanobelts for sodium-ion batteries by in situ transmission electron microscopy

Xia, Weiwei; Xu, Feng; Zhu, Chongyang; Xin, Huolin L.; Xu, Qingyu; Sun, Pingping; Sun, Litao

doi:10.1016/j.nanoen.2016.07.017

Probing microstructure and phase evolution of α-MoO₃ nanobelts for sodium-ion batteries by in situ transmission electron microscopy

Journal Article · Fri Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Nano Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2016.07.017· OSTI ID:1336074

Xia, Weiwei ^[1]; Xu, Feng ^[1]; Zhu, Chongyang ^[1]; Xin, Huolin L. ^[2]; Xu, Qingyu ^[3]; Sun, Pingping ^[3]; Sun, Litao ^[4]

Southeast University, Nanjing (China). SEU-FEI Nano-Pico Center, Key Laboratory of MEMS of the Ministry of Education
Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)
Southeast University, Nanjing (China). Department of Physics, Key Laboratory of MEMS of the Ministry of Education
Southeast University, Nanjing (China). SEU-FEI Nano-Pico Center, Key Laboratory of MEMS of the Ministry of Education; Joint Research Institute of Southeast University and Monash University, Suzhou (China). Center for Advanced Materials and Manufacture

The fundamental electrochemical reaction mechanisms and the phase transformation pathways of layer-structured α-MoO₃ nanobelt during the sodiation/desodiation process to date remain largely unknown. In this study, to observe the real-time sodiation/desodiaton behaviors of α-MoO₃ during electrochemical cycling, we construct a MoO₃ anode sodium-ion battery inside a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Utilizing in situ TEM and electron diffraction pattern (EDP) observation, α-MoO₃ nanobelts are found to undergo a unique multi-step phase transformation. Upon the first sodiation, α-MoO₃ nanobelts initially form amorphous Na_xMoO3 phase and are subsequently sodiated into intermediate phase of crystalline NaMoO₂, finally resulting in the crystallized Mo nanograins embedded within the Na₂O matrix. During the first desodiation process, Mo nanograins are firstly re-oxidized into intermediate phase NaMoO₂ that is further transformed into amorphous Na₂MoO₃, resulting in an irreversible phase transformation. Upon subsequent sodiation/desodiation cycles, however, a stable and reversible phase transformation between crystalline Mo and amorphous Na2MoO₃ phases has been revealed. In conclusion, our work provides an in-deepth understanding of the phase transformation pathways of α-MoO₃ nanobelts upon electrochemical sodiation/desodiation processes, with the hope of assistance in designing sodium-ion batteries with enhanced performance.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Center for Functional Nanomaterials

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0012704

OSTI ID:: 1336074

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 22942967
OSTI ID: 1396391

Report Number(s):: BNL--112456-2016-JA; KC0403020

Journal Information:: Nano Energy, Journal Name: Nano Energy Journal Issue: C Vol. 27; ISSN 2211-2855

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Nanostructured Conversion-Type Negative Electrode Materials for Low-Cost and High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries Wei, Xiujuan; Wang, Xuanpeng; Tan, Xin Advanced Functional Materials, Vol. 28, Issue 46 https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201804458	journal	August 2018
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Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
In situ TEM
MoO3
Multi-step phase transformation
Sodiation/desodiation
Sodium-ion batteries